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<title>let things come out of the woodwork by ivermectin</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27434521">let things come out of the woodwork</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivermectin/pseuds/ivermectin'>ivermectin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gossip Girl (TV 2007)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Conflict Resolution, Established Relationship, F/M, Happy Ending, Mentions of past Blair/Chuck, Mentions of past Dan/Serena, POV Blair Waldorf, but also somehow very different, they're so domestic. they're so married., this is somehow the same as every dan/blair fic i've ever written</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:21:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27434521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivermectin/pseuds/ivermectin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dan tries to save the day, and Blair doesn't want him to.<br/>Confrontation ensues, as does sincere conversation and honesty.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dan Humphrey/Blair Waldorf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>let things come out of the woodwork</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>nobody:<br/>literally nobody:<br/>my brain, to self: you idolise dan too much!!! write about his flaws!<br/>me: okay. okay. oKAY.<br/>-<br/>title from "homemade dynamite" by lorde, which IS a dan/blair song, thank you for your time!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re not my knight in shining armour,” Blair says with enough hostility that it’s almost a snarl. “You’re <em>Dan Humphrey.</em>”</p><p>Dan sits down abruptly, staring at her in surprise. Blair doesn’t like the fact that she put that look on his face, and it’s strange. Like that Siken quote – <em>I wanted to hurt you but the victory is that I could not stomach it. </em></p><p>She loved doing that with Chuck. Reminding him that she could call the shots if she wanted, pulling at his neck metaphorically. But Dan’s not Chuck; she’s never needed to assert her power. She asks, and he gives.</p><p>He gives so much that at times she thinks it’s a flaw. Sometimes, she even thinks, <em>this is why you and Serena should be kept apart; both of you will drain each other out. </em>She knows its an uncharitable thing to think. Still, she can’t help it.</p><p>Right now, she feels uneasy to a point of queasiness, looking at the hurt expression on Dan’s face. “Hey,” she says, putting a hand on his arm. “I didn’t mean it like that.”</p><p>He looks at her. “How did you mean it, then?” he asks, and there is some amount of push in it, the same energy to their banter, except that it’s not playful.</p><p>“Listen,” she says. “I love you, but you need to understand that there are things I can do on my own. Things I don’t need you to save me from. Okay?”</p><p>Dan looks at her, nods. “I know you’re fully capable,” he says, and he gives her a small smile before he looks down at his own hands, as if trying to memorise the shape of them. “I just want to be, you know,” he frowns, “enough for you. Bigger than life. The sort of person you can depend on, the sort of person who loves you in a way that’s art in motion; cinematic, theatrical, glorious. You know what I mean. The kind of love people have in movies, in books. That’s the kind of love I want to give you.”</p><p>Blair can see something of herself in his mannerisms, suddenly, the way he’s curled in on himself, embarrassed to have read the situation wrong or overstepped. She remembers how, for as long as she’s remembered, she’s needed to be in charge of things, she’s needed things to happen in as perfect a way as possible. She thinks of her mother’s expectations, of photos of her and Nate from Cotillion.</p><p>“Dan,” she says, softly, wanting to kiss him, but knowing that if she starts now she won’t stop. “That’s not the kind of love I want from you.”</p><p>He looks at her, waiting.</p><p>Blair could say <em>I’m not Serena</em>, or she could say <em>If I wanted grand and thoughtless big gestures, I’d be with Chuck, </em>but as true as both statements are, they don’t help anybody. She says, instead, “I had a big love already. A wild, unrealistic, movie screen kind of love. I didn’t like it. I don’t want that, anymore.”</p><p>“What do you want?” Dan asks, watching her with that serious look he has.</p><p><em>You</em>, Blair thinks. <em>This. </em>And, <em>I like that you ask. I like that you let me choose. I like that you give me space to be a person separate from you even when we’re together.</em></p><p>“You once told us that our relationship was our world, do you remember that?” Blair asks. Dan nods. “That’s what I want. I don’t want you to stop being yourself, and I don’t want you to stop me from being myself, either. Which means, don’t make big decisions for me on my behalf again, okay?”</p><p>Dan nods. “Okay,” he says.</p><p>Blair smiles at him, and puts a hand on the back of his neck. She kisses him once, quickly and gently. “We have to hold each other responsible if one of us hurts the other,” she says. “That’s the only way we’ll last.”</p><p>Dan nods, expression sombre. “You’re right,” he tells her.</p><p>Blair grins. “Oh, haven’t you got the memo yet, you silly boy?” she asks. “I <em>always </em>am.”</p><p>“In your <em>dreams</em>, Waldorf,” Dan snarks, nudging her shoulder with his. He leans forward a little, kisses her. “So, what do we do now?”</p><p>“Let’s bake together,” Blair tells him. “I’ll find us a tutorial video, or a recipe?”</p><p>“Sure,” Dan says. He squeezes her hand once, lets go. “I love you.”</p><p>Blair keeps walking towards the stairs, but she does look back at him as she goes. “Love you too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>feel free to come and talk to me <a href="https://dancommablair.tumblr.com/">here</a>!<br/>currently going through the multiship feels, but i felt like i HAD to write dan/blair, hence. a small offering while i write 101 other things ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p></blockquote></div></div>
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